Birmingham City 0-0 Preston North End: Blues held to goalless draw at home
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Preston's Adam Hughes and Birmingham's Troy Deeney jump for the ball
Birmingham were held to a goalless draw at home by Preston North End in a match that saw few clear-cut chances for either side.
Troy Deeney hit the post for Birmingham within the opening minutes, while Preston's Ben Whiteman cleared off the line at the start of the second half.
Neither side could break the deadlock in a match that saw both restricted to just two shots on target each.
This was the fourth consecutive draw for Preston, but means they remain unbeaten in their past six league matches.
Lee Bowyer's Birmingham came into the match off the back of two defeats, against Fulham and Peterborough, in which they conceded seven in total and scored just one.
The signs looked good for the home side at the start, when Deeney headed the ball against the bar after just six minutes, getting on the end of a cross from Dion Sanderson.
The opening 20 minutes continued to see chances at both ends. Among them Tahith Chong forced Preston keeper Daniel Iversen to make a save with his legs with a low shot, before Sean Maguire sent the ball over the bar for the visitors.
Josh Earl then saw a low driving shot saved by Birmingham's Matija Sarkic.
But things dried up for both sides as the first half progressed, and it remained that way throughout the rest of the match, despite both managers sending on a brace of substitutes.
Jeremie Bela almost scored the winner for Birmingham, but it was cleared off the line by Whiteman and Iversen then saved the follow-up from Maxime Colin.
Birmingham City manager Lee Bowyer told BBC Radio WM:
"First half I think both teams had good chances. Troy's and Chong's chances - very, very good chances. You've got to say that they had one or two as well in the first half.
"There was never going to be much in it. I think I said earlier on in the week it was going to be similar to Stoke. And unfortunately I was right, because it wasn't pretty to watch.
"You've got two good teams, honest teams that are fighting for the points. Preston are a good side, you can't forget that.
"My job is to get us to finish above teams like Preston and push teams like that. But we're building and they've been building for a long time.
"Yes, we're disappointed we haven't won at home but the other way I look at it is clean sheet and we haven't been beaten."
Preston North End manager Frankie McAvoy:
"Neither team did enough to win the game in my opinion. I felt first half, on chances, we had the better of them. There were a couple of good chances we could have stuck away and that was a bit frustrating.
"But, overall, we both lacked quality in the final third. We were desperate to get that first goal because goals change games, but the longer it goes 0-0, the mindset changes and you don't want to lose the game.
"Ultimately, we didn't create enough after the break, but they didn't put us under much pressure and defensively we stood up and did well. I'm not too disappointed."
